(Castro) was housed in protective custody, which means he was in a cell by himself and rounds are required every 30 minutes. Smith had no other details about how he was hanging when he was found. Emergency life-saving measures were attempted by prison staff. Eventually he was transferred to the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University, where he was pronounced dead at 10:52 p.m.

Just as on May 6, when Berry, DeJesus and Knight were found alive after a decade of captivity, Castro's death has captured national attention. It was the lead story on major network news shows this morning, and the questions about Castro's death are building quickly. Craig Weintraub, one of Castro's lawyers, told the "Today" show this morning that he Castro's other attorney, Jaye Schlachet, had requested an independent forensic evaluation of Castro but it was refused by Cuyahoga County and the Ohio Department of Corrections. According to Weintraub:

Ariel Castro sentenced to life in prison without paroleJudge Michael Russo sends Ariel Castro to prison for life without the chance of parole for the abduction and rape of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. The three women were held captive in his Seymour Avenue home for over a decade.

"We're going to get to the bottom of it. There's no way we're going to let this go. ... I understand that the public in general is probably going to say good riddance … But this is a human being, we are in a civilized society and we expect that the person would be protected when they’re institutionalized, and so there is an obligation on the part of the prisons and I would doubt that the prison officials would dispute that. They have an obligation to ensure there wasn’t a suicide or anything else and we pray there wasn’t anything else."

And Dean Valore, a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, told WKYC Channel 3 this morning that although Castro was in protective custody, he was not under a suicide watch at the prison. "That's the big question, who did that and why," Valore said.

Many commenters on Cleveland.com and through social media are saying "good riddance" to Castro. Some examples from Twitter:

However, Dr. Linda Papadopoulos, a U.K.-based psychologist and author, says Castro's suicide is a "last slap" to his victims. From NBC News:

"Going forward now these girls are going to have to find a way of healing without a sense of justice," Papadopoulos said. "We want the sense of justice when we heal. Sometimes we have to heal without it, and sadly that is what they will have to do." She added: "He decided his fate, something they were never ever ever able to do for themselves. He had ultimate control. To some extent this was in a way his last slap to their faces — 'I’ve got this over you'." Castro's death could well rob Knight, DeJesus and Berry of the feeling that the former bus driver was paying for his crimes, Papadopoulous added. "They very literally had a sentence dealt out to them ... They were literally, metaphorically, in every way imprisoned and held captive. The idea that he did this on his terms again is going to make them, at least to some extent, to feel cheated."

Suicide prevention expert Lindsay Hayes told CBS News he wasn't surprised when he learned that Castro had taken his own life:

"It was only a matter of time," Hayes, the director of the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives and author of the National Study of Jail Suicide, told CBS News' Crimesider. "Someone who had been convicted of such a heinous and despicable crime, who was going to spend the rest of his life in prison — I wasn't surprised."

“He was able to fool even his son and his neighbors, his next-door neighbors, for more than 10 years,” Levin said. “He did not want to be seen as a monster even though he was monster. That is very typical of antisocial personality disorder.” As far as hopes by Castro's attorneys that he could have been used for research, Levin agrees. "We're still in the dark as to where this kind of hideous crime comes from. We're starting to look at the genetics, biology, organic brain function, as well as the effect of a terrible childhood but we really don't understand this phenomenon. That is why I'm against the death penalty for [men] like Castro because I'd like to see him remain alive so we can better study him ... to understand him."

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